Ice Age: Meltdown plus 1
by Superfluous-Slytherin
Summary: After following the migration, the herd had come to a place where they can stay. Unfortunately for Manny, Sid, Diego and his sister Tora, a flood is coming. As the ice melts faster and faster, threatening to destroy their home, they team up with a female mammoth and her possum "brothers" to escape the flood.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people of the Internet. Sorry I haven't posted for two weeks. The first was because I was just lazy and last week was because it was spring break and I was cleaning and at the beach. Anyway, this is the sequel to my Saber sister story so read that if you haven't.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't wanna do paperwork so I can't lie and say they are mine.**

 **Word count: 2051**

Two sabers crept through the brush around the valley. They moved silently and swiftly to the top of the "bowl" and stood side by side. The brother and sister looked out onto the area and surveyed the animals. Ever since they had come to this place with the mammoth and sloth that they called their herd, this had become a habit for them.

The sun rising behind them spread light into the awakening valley as the sabers watched. Although they were predators, they tended to be more sensitive because of their herbivore friends. When they first entered the valley they had decided to only hunt in the east and south. The north was Ice and the west was more of the valley so it seemed like the best option. Often, they had to travel far for food but neither minded it very much.

If food was ever a problem, Tora was quite fond of fishing and it was enough to satisfy them. Diego hates the water and Tora didn't love it but she had been taught by her mother to take necessary means to survive. Today was such a day for the sabers had finished eating the fish, which they had caught before sunrise, and were now relaxing. After most of the valley was awake, the sabers made their way down the hill.

Tora felt the human necklace shift against her fur as she slipped down the hill and she smiled. Memories of the humans passed through her head but she shook them off before her mind could drift to her former packmates. They reached the cave where the herd was taking shelter and were surprised to see Sid gone.

It was a spacious cave with moss growing on the sides of the wall. Manny slept in the largest part of the cave and Sid nearby on a patch of grass. Tora and Diego slept at the opening where moss grew freely on the ground. Normally, both Manny and Sid would still be in the cave when they returned but only Manny sat before them.

"Where's Sid?" Tora questioned as they entered.

Manny sighed. "He's got it in his head that he's going to run a camp for kids."

Diego rolled his eyes at the idea of the sloth doing so. Although Sid liked to believe he was good with kids, none of the children respected him and so the job was pointless.

"Let's go and get him before anything happens." Tora sighed and led the males out of the cave.

As they approached the area of the water slides, they heard the kids laughing. Sid was buried up to his face in the sand and the kids were in a circle around him.

"Hey, whoa. Who said you kids could torture the sloth?" Manny asked as they reached the sloth.

"Manny, don't squash their creativity."

Diego said humorously.

Tora rammed her shoulder into Diego and made him stumble. "Diego, don't encourage them to mess with Sid."

"Hey, Manny, Diego, my bad mammals-jammals. Wanna give a sloth a hand?"Sid asked and Manny pulled him out of the hole.

"Look, I opened my camp. "Campo del Sid". It means Camp of Sid." Sid exclaimed proudly.

"Congratulations. You're now an idiot in two languages." Tora snorted as Sid hurried to 'protect' the childrens 'innocence'.

"Not in front of the k-i-d-z. These little guys love me. Right, Billy?" Sid asked, turning to a turtle like kid with a green head and shell.

"Don't make me eat you." The kid warned, causing Tora to chuckle.

"They kid. That's why they're called kids." Sid laughed nervously.

"I told you, Sid. You're not qualified to run a camp." Manny sighed at the incompetent sloth.

"What do qualifications have to do with childcare?" Sid asked innocently. "Besides, these kids look up to me. I'm a role model to them."

Sid hadn't seen the kids tying a vine around his legs so when they hit him, he fell quiet unexpectedly to the ground at the larger mammals feet.

"I can see that." Diego smirked as he looked down on the sloth.

"You guys never think I can do anything, but I'm an equal member of this herd. I made this herd, so you need to start treating me with some respect." The sloth snapped as he hopped away, the vine still trailing from his feet.

"Come on, Sid." Manny called.

"Sid, we were just kidding!" Diego sighed and Tora nodded.

"Sid, we didn't mean anything!"

"Hey, let's play pin-the-tail-on-the-mammoth." A beaver kid hoisted a stick over his shoulder, earning a chorus of "Yeah!" From the other kids

"Sid!" The remaining herd members yelled after him.

Thankfully, Manny was able to convince the kids to settle down for a story. Tora and Diego lay beside him on a rock, keeping their keen eyes on the kids to make sure they didn't cause trouble.

"And so, in the end, the little burro reached his mommy. And they lived happily ever after." Manny concluded happily.

"Good job." Diego compliments and Tora nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. The sun had made her so tired that it surprised her when another kid piped up.

"Question. Why does the burro go home? Why doesn't he stay with the rabbits?" The beaver questioned curiously.

"Because... because he wanted to be with his family." Manny justified.

"He should go with the girl burro. That's a better love story." A bird girl suggested, hopping onto the mammoths tusks.

Manny rolled his eyes and picked the bird up gently and set her down. "OK, well, when you tell your burro story, that's what he'll do."

"Burro is a demeaning name. Technically, it's called a wild ass." A deer commented.

"Fine. The wild ass boy came home to his wild ass mother." Manny snapped, eliciting laughs from the gathered kids. "See, that's why I called it a burro."

Diego chuckled a little but stopped when both Manny and Tora glared at him. "Way to be mature." Tora muttered

"Could the burro have a grazing problem? Then he'd be more relatable." A small rhino asked.

"Boring!" "It's not believable." The kids laughed.

"Do burros eat their young?" Another asked.

"It's not a good ending."

"Sometimes I throw up."

"They lived happily ever after. You can't get more satisfying than that?" Manny asked in exasperation. "One big, happy family. That's the way it's supposed to be."

"Where's your big, happy family?" The bird child asked innocently.

Manny remained silent and both sabers tensed. They exchanged glances and Diego narrowed his eyes.

"Then the hungry tiger ate the pesky little kids." Diego snapped, leaping to his paws and roaring.

Tora leapt up as well and let out a snarl, although not as convincing as her brother's. The kids screamed and scattered from the mammals, leaving a silence.

"You OK, buddy?" Diego questions while Tora sympathetically asked, "Manny?"

"Sure. Why not?" Manny sighed, walking away.

"I thought…" "I mean….." Both sabers trailed off when Manny snapped.

"Story time's over. The end."

"Run for your lives!" Two pig like animals screamed as they ran by.

"Where's everybody going?" Diego called.

"The world's coming to an end." One exclaimed, skidding to a halt.

"What are you talking about?" Manny asked in confusion.

"Fast Tony - he says the world's gonna flood!" The kid screamed.

The sabers led Manny to where Fast Tony was attempting to sell a reed.

"Through its design and sturdy construction, you'll have plenty of air for eons to come. Of course, results may vary."

"Why are you scaring everybody with this doomsday stuff?" Manny snapped, grabbing the animal by his tail.

"I'm trying to make a living here, pal." Fast Tony whispered before slipping out of the mammoths grip.

"It's my weather forecast. The five-day outlook calls for intense flooding followed by the end of the world. And a slight chance of patchy sunshine later in the week." Gasps rang from the crowd at these statements.

"Come on, don't listen to him. Fast Tony would sell his own mother for a grape." Manny attempted to calm the crowd.

"Are you making an offer? I mean, no, I would not." Tony quickly ammended.

"Haven't you heard? The ice is melting." A pig creature informed him.

"You see this ground, it's covered in ice. A thousand years ago, it was covered in ice. A thousand years from now, it will still be ice." Manny snapped and Tora nodded along with him, although she wasn't completely sure.

"Say, buddy, not to cast aspersions on your survival instincts or nothing, but haven't mammoths pretty much gone extinct?" And anteater laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Manny asked in confusion and Tora growled softly at the smaller mammal.

"About you being the last of your kind."

"Your breath smells like ants." Manny snapped.

The anteater smelled his breath before shaking his head. "Be that as it may, when's the last time you saw another mammoth?"

"Don't pay any attention to him." Diego tried to reassure the mammoth.

"Mammoths can't go extinct. They're the biggest things on Earth." Manny justified.

"What about the dinosaurs?" A bird lady question.

"The dinosaurs got cocky and made enemies." Tora snorted at the mammoths statement but otherwise remained silent.

"Look. Some idiot's going down the Eviscerator." A giraffe called, interrupting the conversation.

"Please tell me that's not our idiot." Manny pleased.

As Tora looked up she realized it was indeed Sid. "He's going to get himself killed!" She gasped as the mammals made their way towards the base cliff.

"OK, I'm gonna jump on the count of three!" Sid called. One, two…"

"Sid, don't move a muscle. We're coming up." Manny called up.

"Jump! Jump! Jump!" The mammals below called.

"Jump! Jump! Jump!" Diego called before Tora hit him with her paw, without claws of course. "Sorry."

The sabers raced up the cliff with Manny behind them. As they reached the top, they were relieved the sloth was still there.

"Two and three one-thousandths, two and four one-thousandths…" Sid stalled.

"Sid, what are you doing? Get down from there!" Manny yelled.

"No. I'm gonna be the first to jump off the Eviscerator and then you guys are gonna have to show me some respect!" Sid called, remaining on the edge.

"The only respect you'll get is respect for the dead!" Tora snapped.

"Come on, guys, he's not that stupid." Diego blinked when Sid turned around and prepared to jump. "But I've been wrong before!" Diego hissed.

"Geronimo!" Sid called, leaping forward.

Tora held her breath as Manny reached out and caught him, throwing him behind him and sending them both sliding into the sabers.

"Hey, watch it!" Diego snapped while Tora simply gasped as they were pushed out onto the open ice.

"I can't breathe. I think I just coughed up my spleen." Sid gasped as he pulled himself out from under Manny.

Diego helped Tora up carefully and they both stood still, catching their breath. The ice creaked underneath them and cracked. The sabers leapt frontward, ice breaking with every step. Diego leapt forward as the ice broke from under him and landed on top of Manny. Tora was not so lucky, having her backpaws slip from under her, she was half dunked in the water. She pulled herself onto solid ice as Manny winced.

"Diego, retract the claws, please." He gasped.

"Right. Sorry." Diego apologized as he slipped off of Manny and his eyes widened when he saw Toras soaked back legs and stomach.

"If I didn't know you better, Diego, I'd think you were afraid of the water." Sid teased causing Diego to wrap a paw around his neck. "OK, OK. Good thing I know you better." Sid gasped.

"Guys. Fast Tony was right. Everything is melting. It's all gonna flood. Come on, we gotta warn them!" Manny gasped.

As they made their way down the hill, the sabers fell behind.

"Are you alright?" Diego asked, catching the small shivers that ran threw her.

"Ya I'm," she paused to shake out her fur, avoiding her brother. "Fine. You're the one scared of water."

Diego chuckled with embarrassment. "Don't say anything. I have my reputation to protect."

Tora rolled her eyes and smiled. "Please, you're my brother. I have seen it before." She laughed, causing him to growl lightly.

 **Yes I added a little scene here. Next week will pick up with the scenes as scripted.**

 **Review to comfort Diego!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I am so sorry x10! I know I promised to get back on a schedule but things got kind of crazy. At first it was just the routine family stuff for a week or two and I was all set to try to keep somewhat of a schedule but I completely forgot about exams. We have been cramming and I am actually in the middle of exams now. I have two more before I'm through all of them but even then I can't promise anything. I have taken on another project with one of my friends that I hope to be through with my summer and I will hopefully be posting it. I am also attempting to take on another story as well as continue oneshots. All in all I'm stressed and a little overwhelmed but hopefully after this week I will be able to get at least somewhat of a routine going. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Word count: 1270**

"Maybe we can rapidly evolve into water creatures." Sid mused good optimistically

"That's genius, Sid." Tora sighed sarcastically.

"Call me Squid." The sloth smirked. "This whole thing's a piece of junk. I can't believe I live here." Sid sighed, breaking off a piece of ice before jumping on top of the sheet.

A large rumble came from the ground and the three large mammals turned to glare at the sloth. "What?" He asked innocently.

The ice broke from under the animal's feet and they fell down the Eviscerator. The animals screamed as the skidded down the water, coming to a halt just in front of Tony. Manny was on his back while the sabers clung to his tusks and Sid hung onto Toras leg.

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Giants balls of furry lava the size of mammoths raining from the sky!" Tony cried, pointing to the animals as Diego leapt from Mannys tusks and Tora shook off Sid as she touched the ground.

"Go suck air through a reed." A smaller mammal called in annoyance.

"Listen to him. He's right about the flood!" Manny cried, catching the remaining animals attention.

"I am? I mean, yes, I am!" Tony said triumphantly.

"Wait. You said there wasn't going to be a flood. Why should we listen to you?"

"Because we saw what's up there. The dam's gonna break!" Manny warned.

The other mammals scoffed and Tora's fur bristled in annoyance. "The entire valley's gonna flood!" She snarled but the small animals ignored her.

"Flood's real, all right. And it's coming fast." A voice startled the gathered animals who glanced up to see a vulture balanced on a dead tree branch above them. "Look around. You're in a bowl. BowI's gonna fill up. Ain't no way out."

"What are we gonna do?" A voice piped up from the crowd.

"Unless you make it to the end of the valley. There's a boat. It can save you." The vultures sly smile crossed his beak as he pointed down the valley.

"I don't see anything." Tora muttered, watching the bird with distrust.

In her experience, birds and especially vultures were not to be trusted. They were scavengers who would do anything to gain a meal.

"But y'all better hurry. Ground's melting, walls tumbling, rocks crumbling. Survive that and you'll be racing the water, cos in three days' time, it's gonna hit the geyser fields." Several mammals leaned forward in anticipation before the bird yelled, "Boom!" Causing them to jump.

"There is some good news, though. The more of you die, the better I eat." A growl erupted from Tora's throat and she could see her brother bristle beside her at the words. "I didn't say it was good news for you." The vulture explained smoothly before pushing into the air and disappearing.

"He must have been a real pleasure to have in class." Sid jokes weakly.

The sound of cracking ice stole the attention of this in the valley. A large sheet of ice dislodged itself from the top of the bowl and crashed into the pool below, bringing down a cascade of ice with it.

"Dam." A beaver exclaimed as they examined the ice.

"All right, you heard the scary vulture. Let's move out." Manny ordered, spurring the animals to move.

"Manny, you really think there's a boat?" Diego questioned, bringing Tora's fears into the light.

They had no way of knowing if the vulture was telling the truth and Tora didn't want to be misled.

"I don't know, but in a few days, this place is gonna be underwater. If there's any hope, it's that way." Manny nodded towards the end of the valley and the hers began to move.

They fell into the familiar positions, Tora and Diego side by side, leading the way with Sid and Manny behind them. It was only after Tora's paws hit snow, a small way from the pond did she realize there was no pounding of Mammoth feet behind her.

"Where's Manny?" She questioned.

Diego sighed and bounded back, and Tora could hear him call, "Manny, let's go."

As Manny fell in behind them, Tora couldn't help but smile at the prospect of another adventure with the group, the herd.

"Manny, I just heard you're going extinct." Sid trained his eyes on Manny, his mind already having wandered in the short time they had been walking.

"Hey, if you ever master hygiene, try working on sensitivity." Diego snapped quietly.

"I'm not going extinct!" Manny whirled around the face Sid angrily, only to have his attention drawn to a passing beaver. "Kids, look. The last mammoth. Well, you probably won't see another one of those again." He informed the young beavers before moving away.

"See?" Sid exclaimed triumphantly, as though he had a wonderful breakthrough.

As they traveled, Tora and Diego grew more and more annoyed with the sloth as did Manny.

"Shut up, Sid"

"Okay."

"Stop singing, Sid."

Eventually the mammoth snapped and neither saber blamed him. "Sid, I'm going to fall on you again and this time I will kill you." He threatened.

"OK, someone doesn't like the classics." Sid huffed.

They paused in a snow covered area and Tora saw Manny stare at himself in the ice. A familiar look was in his eyes and it took Tora a few moments to realize what it was. She has seen that look in Diego a few times and in herself when she felt most alone, such as the night her parent died. Or the night she talked to Diego about leaving, fantasizing about leaving Soto.

"What if you're right? What if I am the last mammoth?" Manny questioned, and Tora frowned at the forlorn tone in his voice.

"But Manny, look at the bright side, you have us!" Sid said happily.

"Not your most persuasive argument, Sid." Tora sighed.

A strange trumpeting sound echoed through the trees, halting the conversation.

"Mammoths?" Diego questioned and Tora tilted her head in confusion.

"I knew I couldn't be the last one! I felt it in my gut. Extinct? Come on!" Manny exclaimed as he scooped up Sid and took off running.

Tora immediately scrambled after him, her paws spraying dirt as her brother followed. They caught up easily but Manny was going fast. Sid saw them and crouched lower on Manny's back and began commentating.

"He's up by a couple of fifths, ahead by a tusk. And he's beating Diego as Diego's coming round the corner. And Tora is ahead of Diego by a hair and they're even again and now she's ahead!" Tora let out a small laugh as she pulled slightly ahead of her brother. He often got annoyed that she was faster than him, most because she teased him about it, and it was rare they ran full out.

The mammals burst into the clearing only to see a horse like creature on a log.

"Sorry. My stomach hates me." He apologized and Tora immediately shrunk back, away from the mammal.

"Well, don't that put the "stink" in extinction? Nasty." Sid joked, causing Tora to smile as they backed away.

I'm the corner of her eye, Tora saw Manny begin to walk away and she turned towards him, calling, "Manny."

"I need to be alone for a while. You go on ahead. I'll catch up." He said glumly as he walked away.

"One truly is the loneliest number." The sloth mused and for once, Tora agreed with him. She was lucky to have her brother by her side and Sid considered the whole herd his family while Manny….. Manny was alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I know I said I would try and get on schedule but a lot has been going on and I'm currently at the beach. This story is probably not going to have much of a schedule but I promise that I will at least get back to a schedule by Ice age 3.**

 **Word count:1707**

As the remaining mammals watched Manny disappear into the bush, Tora turned to leave, only to be hit in the head with a rock. Two more rocks pelted Diego and Sid as well. They glanced around angrily to see two possums hanging from a tree with reeds, blowing rocks at them.

"These work great!" One exclaimed happily while the other replied, "Cool." while shooting more rocks at them.

Diego leapt upwards, climbing towards the branch, his claws missing the possums by meer inches. Tora attempted to pounce on the two as they dropped from the tree but they rolled out of her way.

"Missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" One cried immaturely as they disappeared into a series of holes.

"I'll get 'em!" Sid cried 'heroically' before face planting into a hole.

"Which end is up?" The possums teased as the sabers watched, waiting for an opening.

"I'd hide that face too." One laughed as Sid managed to get his head out of the hole.

"Hey, ugly." One bated Sid forward while the other shot a rock at his tail.

"I gotta sit on that." Sid cried, attempting to catch the rodents.

After a few missed tries Sid cried, "Gotcha." Only to have the possums pop up behind him laughing.

Tora took the opportunity to jump behind one while Diego jumped behind the other. Their shadows cast over the possums, causing them to look up.

"Remember us?" Tora grinned evilly as Diego smirked.

"Boo." The possums screamed and ducked back into the holes in fear.

They popped up a few holes away and shot the two sabers with rocks. Tora went after one and Diego after the other, their paws missing by inches as the rodents tried to confuse them.

"OK, I'm going in." Sid cried, only to be tripped by the possums tails.

"Sid!" Diego cried angrily as the sloth bounced on his back and landed under Tora.

"What?" Sid asked innocently.

The possums shot more rocks at them, laughing. Tora lunged towards them, only to be practically knocked over by Sid moving from under her and Diego coming for the possums as well.

"Nice miss." One taunted.

"Cover your side." Sid advised as he leaned from under her and against Diego's side.

"I felt some breeze in that one." The possum laughed.

The rodents continued to pelt them with rocks as one cried "Smile." Before hitting Tora I'm the face.

"Out of my way." Diego growled as the mammals kept trying to catch them.

"Hello. Over here!" The possums cried cheekily.

Tora was the first to notice that she was tangled with the two boys. Diego's leg was over hers, and sid was wrapped half over her back, trapping her. The boys hit heads as they attempted to move and Tora growled in annoyance.

"Surrender?" The possums teased.

The mammals glanced at each other and back at the possums. "To rodents?" Tora asked in astonishment, her ego not allowing her to say yes and it was obviously same for the boys because they cried, "Never."

"Cool." The possums laughed. "Smoke them."

They ducked back into the holes and shot up and began rapidly firing rocks, causing the tangled mammals to move and fall over each other.

"If anyone asks, there were 50 of 'em and they were rattlesnakes." Diego growled as he untangled himself from his sister and she pushed Sid off of her back, causing him to drop unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Deal." She gasped as she straightened.

"Here, kitty, kitty." They laughed at Diego and Tora.

"Big mistake, you miscreants." Diego snapped.

"Miscreants?" They asked in confusion.

"Diego, they're possums." Sid 'corrected'.

"Sid, shut up!" Tora snapped as she saw her brother glare at him.

The possums laughed before one said, "Wow, Kitten has a temper."

Tora growled in annoyance at the nickname and she pounced forward, Diego following her with a roar.

"Retreat!" The possums cried as one jumped into the arms of another and they ran.

Tora and Diego's strides pounded rhythmically against the dirt as they chased the possums angrily. A few times the rodents tried to lose them by turning quickly but Tora was able to turn faster than her brother, who skidded a foot or so, and Diego always caught up. Sid was surprisingly able to cut through most of the forest and accidentally caught up with them as they entered a clearing.

"Help! Help! Help!" The possums cried as they ran up to a mammoth and climbed onto her back.

The sabers paused, Tora nearly tripping in shock, as Sid slowed beside them. Manny was staring at them in surprise, as was the female.

"Well, shave me down and call me a mole rat. You found another mammoth!" Sid cried happily.

"Where? Wait a minute. I thought mammoths were extinct." The female said, causing the group to send her confused looks.

"What are you looking at me for?" The girl asked innocently and Tora realized that she wasn't joking, she actually didn't know.

"I don't know. Because you're a mammoth?" Manny said, motioning to her with his trunk.

"Me? Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a mammoth. I'm a possum." She said happily.

"Right." Manny rolled his eyes, obviously not hearing how series she was. "Good one. I'm a newt. This is my friend, the badger and his sister the wolverine." He pointed to the sabers before pointing to Sid, "And my other friend, the platypus."

"Why do I gotta be the platypus? Make him the platypus. Or her!" Sid grumbled indignantly.

"This guy giving you trouble, sis?" One of the possums asked.

"Sis?" The mammals repeated in surprise.

"That's right. These are my brothers. Possum, possum, possum." She said, pointing to the two and then herself in turn.

"I don't think her tree goes all the way to the top branch." Manny mumbled.

"Manny, brink of extinction's a bad time to be picky." Sid whispered, earning a disgusted glare from Tora.

"Really? You're disgusting Sid" She growled softly, causing him to step farther away from her and closer to Manny.

"Hey, she should come with us!" Sid suggested happily.

"Are you insane? No way!" Manny cried.

"OK." Sid 'surrendered' before walking over to the female.

"Manny wants me to ask you if you'd like to escape the flood with us." He offered.

"I'd rather be road kill!" One possum said stubbornly as he stomped forward and glared at the sabers.

"That can be arranged." Tora growled, still annoyed with him calling her Kitten. "Funny. Let me have a little word with my brothers." The mammoth dragged her 'brothers' away gently but Tora could still hear her conversation.

"Ellie, are you crazy? We're not going with them." one of the possums cried.

"Look, we'll never make it in time if we only travel at night." Ellie insisted. "These guys can protect us out in the open. What do you say?"

Tora's attention was grabbed by the boys once more as Manny snapped at Sid.

"Why did you invite them?"

"Cos you might be the only two mammoths left on Earth." Sid justified.

Tora huffed in disgust, trying not to smack Sid. They had just met the girl and right away he suggested that Manny mate with her! No wonder he couldn't get a girl.

"He has a point." Diego agreed and Tora growled pointedly as she turned away.

"Sorry, when did I join this dating service?" Manny asked and Tora rolled her eyes.

"My brothers and I would be delighted to come with you." Ellie said, turning back towards them.

"If you treat us nicely!" One brother bounced towards Diego, earning a growl. "See that? That's the total opposite of nice!" He cried, pointing at the saber.

"Maybe we'll have a snack before we hit the road." Diego growled and Tora rolled her eyes as the other possum approached her.

"As if the kitten could." Tora growled and advanced forward a few steps.

"You want a piece of us? Let's go." They challenged.

One jumped up onto Diegos back with a cry of "Banzai!"

The other wrapped his tail around Tora's leg to stop her from helping her brother.

"I got 'em!" Sid called.

"Back! Back!" The possum unwrapped his tail from Tora and began hitting at her and Sid like a whip.

Diego finally managed to knock the possum off his back and attempted to bite him but the possum caught his teeth and held them there, saying, "You know the best part? We're carrying diseases."

The ground rumbled as the possum who had been hitting at Tora went to leap onto her. He paused and let himself land beside her leg. Diego slowly moved his mouth away from the possum as the ground stilled.

"OK, thanks to Sid, we're now travelling together." Manny snapped. "And like it or not, we're going to be one big, happy family. I'll be the daddy, Ellie will be the mommy." Tora rolled her eyes at this point but didn't interrupt.

"And Diego and Tora will be the uncle and Aunt who eats the kids who get on my nerves." Tora smirked slightly as her brother eyes the possums.

"Now, let's move it before the ground falls out from under our feet!" Manny cried.

The herd automatically fell in with him but Tora paused and walked somewhat with Ellie, the thought of having another female to travel with, even a mammoth, was strange.

"I thought fat guys were supposed to be jolly." Ellie mumbled and Tora chuckled. "I'm not fat. It's this fur, it makes me look big. It's poofy." Manny growled as he kept walking.

"OK." Ellie agreed before chuckling. "He's fat." She concluded and Tora nodded with a small laugh.

As they continued forward, Tora couldn't help but wonder if Manny would seriously try to fall in love with her simply because they could be the only mammoths left. She had never liked the idea of having a mate for anything other than love, one of the reasons she never allowed Sotos advances to go very far. As she watched the girl walk with her brothers she couldn't help but hope that he didn't do anything to hurt her. Heck, she didn't even think she was a mammoth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm going to try and start getting these chapters out quicker but no promises. Some family I almost never see has suddenly decided to come into my life for more than Christmas and birthdays so I'm trying to juggle that along with some other stuff. Enjoy this chapter!**

 **I realized I forgot to do the disclaimer lately so Disclaimer: I only own Tora and any other OC I put in later.**

 **Word count: 2310**

Tora didn't walk beside Ellie for long after they started walking before she bounded up to her brother's side. She couldn't help but still feel annoyed at Sid so she ignored him when he tried to talk to her as she passed. Diego glanced at her in confusion but knew better than to press his sister when she was mad. There was a comfortable silence between them but she could feel the tensions between the others behind them.

The travel was slow, Ellie attempting to hide behind everything, convinced that a predator was going to get her.

"We'll never make it at this pace." Manny groaned. "Ellie, it's OK, you can lose the camouflage. You're safe." He called as they halted.

"OK. Safe? Please." Tora could practically hear the female roll her eyes from behind the tree she was 'hiding' behind. "Crash, Eddie, you two go scope it out."she ordered.

The possums began doing some dramatic spy moves and they talked to each other. "What you got?" Crash asked.

"Perimeter all clear."

"Roger that. One-niner, over. Roger, over, victor…" Tora rolled her eyes as the possums began pretending to elaborately talk to each other. Before long they were wrestling on the ground.

"Guys!" Ellie called and the possums straightened out.

"All clear!" Manny called, urging Ellie out of her hiding place slowly and the group began moving again.

"Hawk!" Eddie 's ear twitched as the two possums ran in circles before falling on the ground but her eyes widened as a large thump followed and Ellie landed on her back with her trunk draped dramatically on the ground."What are you doing?" Manny sighed.

"Playing dead." Ellie mumbled before letting her trunk fall limp

"Manny, why don't you do that?" Sid asked innocently.

"Because I'm a mammoth." Manny snapped in annoyance.

"But you'd do it for treats, right?" Sid teased causing Tora to laugh and earn herself a glare from the mammoth.

She shrugged it off and saw her brother smiling as well. They both knew that no matter how angry Manny grew, he wouldn't do anything.

"Is he gone?" Ellie stage whispered.

Manny glanced up as the hawk drifted away before replying, "You're safe. Get up."

"Man. If you weren't here, that hawk would have swooped down and snatched me for dinner. That's how cousin Wilton went." Ellie explained, causing Manny to huff in annoyance and turn away.

"Boy, I really feel for you. I do. I can't even imagine what it'd be like to be the last one of your species." Ellie said, much to the annoyance of Manny.

"I'm not the last one." Manny sighed

"You brave, brave soul. That's right. Don't give up hope." Ellie was obviously trying to pity Manny and Tora smirked at Manny's face of confusion and annoyance.

"Ellie. Look at our footprints. They're the same shape." Manny said, pointing at the large footprints on the ground.

"Well, how do I know those aren't your footprints?" Ellie tilted her head innocently.

"Well, then, look at our shadows. We match." Tora smiled as the two stared at the identical, large shadows that cast on the ground.

"You're right. They're the same. You must be part possum." Ellie said enthusiastically before moving off.

"You wish." Eddie smirked as Crash stuck his tongue out at Manny.

Tora couldn't help but frown at Manny as he glared at Ellie. She despised Sid's reasoning to bring her along but she felt sorry for the girl and didn't blame her for the boy's intentions. Ellie had no idea what she really was and Manny wasn't helping.

* Timeskip *

Eventually, the group made it onto flatter, open ground. Unfortunately, the ground was made up of large pieces of ice floating carefully on water, held together by each other like some kind of puzzle. Ellie and Manny had taken to walking in front as Diego was moving much slower over the ice. Tora walked beside him but occasionally would move off to the edge of an ice piece to watch the water. There didn't seem to be any fish which worried her. Even when the water froze over, fish normally survived.

A feeling of unease and of being watched set in when they were about halfway across the ice. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, she had felt it often when she and Diego had been in the pack, but it still sent a chill down her spine that made her fur bristle with unease. Diego was too preoccupied by the water to notice but she saw his fur unintentionally spike, even more so than it already was.

"Diego, there are whole continents moving faster than you." Manny called over his shoulder. "We gotta catch up with the others."

Diego paused in disgust as he had to pass pools of water that had accumulated from the melting ice. Tora purposefully jumped over a pool to avoid it. Even though she could fish she didn't like water as much as other mammals. The depth beneath them worried her because sabers were never taught to swim. She could handle her paws wet for food but nothing more. She felt sorry for her brother who had a much larger fear than her, especially as Crash and Eddie didn't seem to care about the water.

"Hey. Knock it off." Diego snapped as said possums used the ice as a slide and scampered across ahead of him.

"Cry me a river, blubber-tooth tiger. Have some fun." Crash laughed as Eddie leaned against Ellie's leg and grabbed Crash's tail.

"The ice is thin enough without you two wearing it down." Tora snapped as she drew to a stop beside her brother and noticed his ears pinned against his head in annoyance and fear.

"come on you two! The ice may be thin, but it's strong enough to hold a ten-ton mammoth and a nine-ton possum." Sid smirked.

They continued but Tora could feel the tension and fear from Diego as they moved onto a sheet of much thinner ice that allowed them to see the water below. Manny paused for a few seconds as though he heard something but then kept moving. The feeling of unease grew stronger as Tora moved closer to her brother and resisted the urge to growl at the ice.

The possums raced across the ice, startling Manny as they began a slap fight. Suddenly, the ice behind them exploded upwards as something shot out of the water.

"Mammal overboard!" Sid screamed as he was launched into the water.

Tora scrambled back in shock, her instincts flooding into her and telling her to run with the pack, in this case Manny who was making his way towards solid ground. She took a second to shake the thoughts out of her head and she dug her claws into the now broken ice to allow herself to balance. She could see Diego gripping a piece of ice for dear life and started to leap from piece to piece to reach him.

"Ellie, get up. If you play dead, you'll be dead." She faintly heard to possums cry as they attempted to rouse the female before they followed Manny.

As she reached Diego and balanced on the ice next to him, Sid appeared in the water.

"Look at me. Diego." He cried as he swam desperately towards the sabers.

"Sid!" Tora cried as she saw a large mass swimming behind him.

The sloth paddled desperately as Tora extended a paw into the water. When he reached her she pulled him onto the ice and he immediately tried to get her brother out of his state of shock.

"Diego. Come on, Diego. Come on!" He yelped, pushing on the sabers shoulder.

"Diego, snap out of it! I don't feel like being fish food!" Tora cried as she pushed on his shoulder.

"It's not working!" Sid gasped as the shape grew closer.

"We need to shock him!" Tora growled before swiping at the creature. She had no idea where the bravery to do it came from but it worked, the creature swerved to avoid her claws, giving them a little more time.

"This may sting a little." She heard Sid say as she turned and saw him bite her brothers tail.

Tora winced as Diego roared but started running, following her brother and the sloth towards safer ground. Seconds after they left the ice, the creature bit the ice and smashed it to smithereens. They finally reached solid ice and the creature sunk back into the water as they collapsed. Tora closed her eyes for several moments, exhausted, and when she opened them again, Manny had the second creature on his tusks and threw it as hard as he could away from the herd. After that, he calmly walked onto solid ground but not before glaring at the dinosaur like creatures and making them sink into the water.

"What in the animal kingdom was that?" Tora panted, attempting to catch her breath from the sudden running.

"I don't know. From now on, land - safe, water - not safe." Diego gasped.

Manny turned to leave, only to be stopped by Ellie.

"That was the bravest thing I've ever seen." She smiled, much to Manny's embarrassment.

"It was nothing. I…" he started, only to be cut off.

" It's not a compliment. To a possum, bravery is just dumb." Ellie informed him as she started to walk away.

"Yeah, we're spineless. Lily-livered." Crash smirked as he and Eddie walked after their sister.

"Maybe mammoths are going extinct because they get in danger. Maybe you should run away more." Ellie offered over her shoulder.

"Good point. Thanks for the advice." Manny called sarcastically.

"Happy to help." Ellie yelled back.

"Do you believe her? "Bravery is dumb. Maybe you should run away more". She's infuriating and stubborn and narrow-minded." Manny growled as he stared after the female in annoyance.

"You like her." Sid teased.

"I do not." Manny snapped childishly.

Tora couldn't help but smile. She may hate the thought of Manny being with Ellie simply because he HAD to but he seemed to be developing feelings for her, even if he denied it.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Sid smirked. "And so is yours." He told Diego.

"What secret?" The saber asked in confusion.

"You know, the one where you can't swim." Sid grinned widely.

"That's ridiculous." Diego growled.

"Sid, that's no secret. I can't swim either." Tora informed him, causing his face to fall for a moment before he perked up.

"Ahhh, but Diego is AFRAID of the water!" Sid chuckled.

"I'm not!" Diego growled in annoyance.

"Fine. But we're living in a melting world. You're going to have to face your fear sooner or later." Sid said pointedly as he splashed through a small stream.

Tora rolled her eyes as her brother purposefully avoided the water but she followed in his footsteps anyway.

The walk through the valley was agonizingly slow as the possums and Ellie were more focused on joking around and playing than actually moving. They had found a number of logs and were using them to roll down the hill at breakneck speeds.

Sid was still trying to get Manny to love Ellie, much to Tora's displeasure.

Suddenly, Ellie rolled past the four, following her brothers down the hill on a log. "No brakes. Gotta roll. Meet you at the other end." She called.

"So you think she's the girl for me?" Manny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. She's tons of fun and you're no fun at all. She completes you." Sid smirked, drawing a heart with his hands.

Tora rolled her eyes and peeled back her lips to reveal her fangs at the sloths back.

As Manny got called away by the possums, Tora slid to the ground and placed her head in her paws, exhausted. She hadn't been sleeping well starting a few days before their impending doom and it certainly wasn't helping.

"Are you alright?" Diego asked in concern. "You seem mad. And tired."

Tora rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm fine Diego. I just don't like the idea of forcing someone to be with you. And I am tired. Running for things that want to kill you does that."

Diego sighed and sat down beside her. "Manny didn't forcing her to do anything. But they could very well be the last two mammoths."

Tora said nothing. Diego opened his mouth to speak again, only to hear yelling from down the hill. Apparently the possums had pulled an ill minded prank involving Crash's death.

The siblings conversation was not forgotten as they continued on the trails. Before long, the sun started setting and Manny was having to clear logs off of their path. Diego watched as Ellie chased the possums through the logs. Tora was occasionally leaping over the logs but she seemed mostly content to stay by her brothers side as they walked.

"She's not half bad. Crazy and confused, but sweet." Diego commented.

"So?" Manny asked in annoyance as he threw another log.

"So what's holding you back?" Diego asked.

"My family." Manny sighed.

Tora immediately cowered back slightly. She knew better than to speak to Manny about his family. It always upset him more but Sid didn't seem to have the same remorse.

"You can have that again, you know." Sid commented as he climbed onto the log that Manny had picked up.

"No, Sid, I can't." Manny growled as he swung the log.

"OK, OK, but think about it. I mean, if you let this chance go, you're letting your whole species go and that's just... that's just selfish." Tora rolled her eyes and Manny threw the log. She didn't blame Manny this time, Sid could never say the right thing.

"I think I'm starting to get through to him." Sid said cheerfully as the others kept walking.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Here's yet another chapter. I am almost finished with "The Meltdown" and next will be "Dawn of the Dinosaurs." I will try to have a schedule again with that fanfiction**.

 **Disclaimer: I only own Tora and any other OCs I put in later**

 **Word count: 2367**

Manny had left with Ellie while the rest of the herd had settled into a camp for the night. Tora had fallen asleep already, nestled in the grass. Diego had been tempted to wake her up to hunt but the fact that she fell asleep so easily meant that she was exhausted. So now he was stuck with Sid. He moved near the sloth, a few feet away from Tora so their conversation wouldn't disturb her.

"Boy, Manny sure took a big leap with Ellie today." Sid said as he attempted to start a fire with rocks.

"Sure did." Diego sighed as he settled into the dirt.

"He stood on the shore of uncertainty and dove right in. Splash." Sid glanced at Diego but got no reaction. "Kind of brave, huh? The way he faced his fear." He continued pointedly, nudging the cats shoulder.

"I wouldn't know. Sabres don't feel fear." Diego sat up in annoyance as the sloth rolled his eyes.

"Come on, all animals feel fear. It's what separates us from, say, rocks. Rocks have no fear. And they sink." The sloth smirked as he dropped the rocks onto the ground.

"What are you getting at, Sid?" Diego asked annoyance.

"It may surprise you to know that I, too, have experienced fear." Sid said happily.

"No. You?" Diego rolled his eyes as the sloth continued.

"Yeah. Yes, as impossible as it seems, the sloth has natural enemies that would like to harm or otherwise "kill" us." He gulped.

"I wonder why?" Diego smirked.

"Jealousy, mostly." The sloth continued vainly. "But the point is that fear is natural."

"Fear is for prey." Diego growled as he stood up and moved towards Tora.

"Well, then, you're letting the water make you its prey." Diego paused and glanced back at the sloth as he leapt onto a log. "Just jump in and trust your instincts."

The sloth started to 'swim' in the bushes as he talked. "You know, most animals can swim as babies."

"And for a tiger, it's like crawling on your belly to stalk helpless prey." He demonstrated the 'hunting crawl' very crudely.

"But faster, OK?" Sid's body was now suspended by vines as he moved in circles. "Now, claw, kick, claw, kick. I'm stalking the prey. Claw, kick. I look back over my shoulder to see if I'm being followed. And I'm breathing. And I'm stalking and I'm stalking and I'm..." Diego, having grown annoyed with the sloths chatter, cut the rope with a claw, causing the sloth to drop to the ground.

"I'm falling." Sid wheezed.

"Correction. You're sinking. Kind of like a rock." Diego smirked.

As he said this, Tora shifted in her sleep, catching the males attention. She gave a small whimper and curled her back legs closer to her stomach. Sid obviously knew better than to speak as Diego moved carefully towards her. Before he could reach her, her fur stood on end, her eyes shot open and her claws slid out as she jumped to her feet, panting.

Diego had taken a step back when her claws had come out, not wanting to be accidentally clawed and Sid tripped over himself when she jumped up. Tora's fur slowly lowered and her eyes lost the wild look as she stared at them in surprise.

"Are you okay Tora?" Sid asked and the saber shook her fur out.

"Ya. Ya, I'm fine." She said breathlessly as she sat and tried to relax.

"That must have been some dream!" Sid laughed softly as Diego sat beside her and she instinctively leaned against him.

"Ya. It was... it was something." She said quietly and Diego was content to let it be but Sid was not.

"So what was it about?" He asked curiously.

"It was nothing." She brushed it off quickly but Sid poked her shoulder gently.

"Oh come on. Must have been a big nightmare to scare the big bad tiger." He teased but Tora sighed.

"Drop it Sid." Diego snapped but Tora shook her head.

"No, it's fine. I'm just, a little shaken up. In my dream, Soto was back. He came back and he... you guys were gone." She whispered the last part and Sid watched her in surprise.

Before Tora could react, Sid wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her before quickly pulling away.

"Well that's silly Tora! It will take a lot more than SOTO to get rid of Sid the Sloth!" He struck a pose that caused Tora to laugh.

"I believe it." She chuckled before she lay back down.

Diego followed her and pressed his fur against his in silent comfort.

However, once Sid had moved back to middle of the clearing to start a fire, he tilted his head so that she could see his eyes.

"How long have you been having these dreams?" He asked softly.

Tora shrugged and then replied, "Only a few days."

Diego frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't anything big. I'm fine."

Diego stared into her eyes for a few moments before finally saying, "He's gone Tora. I promise. And if he wasn't then I'd protect you. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

They slipped back into a comfortable silence as the fire crackled. After a few minutes Tora moved and put her head on his back, snuggling into his fur for comfort. She had to admit, she was glad that Diego and Sid knew. It took some worry away from her. As she closed her eyes to sleep, she knew she wouldn't get nightmares tonight. That despite how goofy he was, Sid would watch over her. And despite how gruff her brother seemed, he cared about her and would be there for her, to protect her. She felt the necklace press against her neck and she smiled. Although there were some bad memories, that baby had changed her life for the better

The sound of mammoth feet woke the female. Manny entered the camp awkwardly, Ellie somewhere behind.

"So, how did it go?" Diego asked. "Not bad." Manny groaned sarcastically.

Tora turned her head to see Ellie storming into the camp sight, an angry look on her face, splashing into a puddle and putting out the fire.

"OK, let's go. We travelled with you all day, now you're coming with us at night!" Ellie snapped, obviously very mad.

"But we can't see at night." Manny frowned.

"Then enjoy the flood." The she-mammoth glared before spinning around and marching away.

"I can't even look at him." Crash hissed.

"Pervert!" Eddie yelled at Manny.

Tora stared at the mammoth in shock. "What did you…?" She trailed off, her mind catching up and realizing what must of happened.

"I'm never taking advice from Sid again." He groaned and Tora curled her lip in disgust.

Manny was her friend but judging from Ellie's reaction, he obviously mentioned something about being the last of the species. Tora sped up, putting distance between herself and the males, much to her brothers surprise. Ellie glanced at her when she came up beside her but didn't speak.

"Look, I don't know what Manny said but it was obviously way out of line." Tora said sympathetically.

Ellie blinked in confusion. "I thought you'd be on his side."

"He's my friend and all but he doesn't have the most tact." Tora laughed softly.

Ellie turned her head to watch the ground ahead of her and Tora sighed but remained walking beside her. Sabers had enough night vision that she could avoid hitting rocks but she couldn't see as clearly as the possums.

"I thought we could walk together." Manny said as he moved beside Ellie.

"Crash, ask the mammoth why he thinks that." Ellie said, obviously avoiding conversation with the male.

"She said she thinks you're a jerk and to go away." Crash snapped at Manny.

Tora frowned at the possum. She knew Ellie and the possums were mad, for obvious reasons, but the possum was quite immature about it.

"She didn't say…" Manny sighed before trying to press the subject. "Look, maybe if we spend more time…"

Tora growled a little as Ellie spoke to her brother.

"Tell him that I need a little personal space right now."

"She said go jump in a lake." Crash told Manny.

"And possums rule." Crash added.

"I can hear her, you know." Manny glared at the possums.

"What do you want? A medal?"

The possums walked forwards before seemingly disappearing into the fog. Ellie rushed forward, causing the ground to suddenly start shifting. The ground wasn't solid, it was piles of rocks stacked high into the air over a large drop. Tora's paws had been swept out from under her when the ground moved. She managed to press herself close to the base on a rock that was barely wide enough for her to stand on. Manny and Ellie were on the top layer, Diego was just above her with them, as was Sid, and the possums were underneath her.

"Stop moving." Diego cried and Tora could see he was just barely hanging on.

"Thank you." Diego sighed as the rocks stabilized.

Suddenly, the rock underneath Manny and Ellie split, sending the rocks teetering again.

"Manny, Ellie. Lock trunks." Diego growled. Ellie refused to even look at Manny, causing Diego to snarl, "Now!"

The mammoths wrapped their trunks together desperately.

Diego glanced around. "Crash, Eddie. Grab on to that ledge."

"Funny. Now what's your real plan?" Eddie laughed nervously.

"Just do it." Diego growled. "Tora, do you think you could reach the one on the other side?"

Tora examined the ledge as it grew closer and nodded. "Ill be fine."

"Bye, Eddie."

"Bye, Crash." The possums cried dramatically. "Bye, Ellie."

"Go now." Diego ordered.

The possums held onto each other and grabbed the ledge without leaving the rock. Tora moved to the edge of her rock and reached out, grasping the ledge first with one paw, then the other, digging her claws in and holding the platform a little stiller.

"I'm sorry if what I said before offended you." Manny apologized and Tora rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean "if" it offended me?" Ellie snapped, pulling away from Manny a little. Tora yelped as the rock began to pull out from under her feet, leaving her hanging onto the small rock desperately. "That it offended her!" Crash cried.

"I mean that, that it offended you." Manny amended. "You just overreacted, that's all."

"What?" Ellie yelled, pulling back again.

"Take it back!" Crash yelled. "There are other lives at stake here."

"Manny, you aren't helping things!" Tora cried as she dug her claws in desperately, her body partially suspended over the drop.

"He's got a point." Sid said.

"He's got nothing." The possums argued.

"Sid if you get us killed I swear!" Tora growled.

"It was a misunderstanding."

"It was insensitive." Ellie snapped.

"Apologise!" Diego growled, attempting to get a better claw hold.

"Why me? She overreacted." Manny cried childishly.

"Just apologise!"

"No."

"Do it."

"I'd rather not die!" Tora cried desperately.

"OK, I'm sorry." Ellie yelled.

"What?" The other mammals asked in confusion.

"He's right. I overreacted."

"You mean…"

"Not another word or I'll come down there and push you over myself." Diego snapped

"I got it. I got it. I got it." Sid cried as he attempted to grab another ledge but missed, falling onto the ledge instead. His weight away from the rocks unbalanced the rocks, causing them to fall apart.

"Manny, Ellie, run! Run!" Diego cried.

Tora pushed her back legs off and managed to get herself onto firm ground. She scrambled up the hill where the mammoths had gotten themselves. She saw Diego desperately trying to jump from rock to rock before he leapt, missing the cliff. Tora cried out in shock before two mammoth trunks grabbed his paws.

"I guess we finally did something right together." Ellie smiled.

"Hey, don't mind me. Just hanging off the edge of a cliff here." Diego laughed nervously.

As the mammoths pulled him onto solid ground, Tora licked his face desperately, fear draining from her body.

When they had finally settled down for the night, Sid began talking to the sabers.

"Remember the good old days?"

"Which good old days?" Tora asked with a yawn.

"You know. Yesterday, last week. Back when the trees went up and down and the ground stayed under our feet." Sid chuckled.

"Yep. Those were the good days." Diego sighed. "Possums were possums and mammoths were mammoths. We should get some sleep."

"Yeah. Tomorrow's the day the vulture said we're all going to die." Tora rolled her eyes as the sloth fell into a dead sleep seconds later. She snuggled into her brothers fur once more, intent on sleeping the night.

Tora was woken up by her brother stretching. "Water? Water!" He cried, throwing her off and her front paws into the water with a splash as he jumped up and onto Manny, who knocked Ellie and the possums into the water.

"Crash, I told you not to drink before bed." Eddie frowned.

"I didn't do this. At least, not all of it." Crash said sheepishly. Tora frowned in disgust as she shook off her paws.

"What's happening?" Ellie asked in confusion.

"We overslept. We need to move." Manny ordered.

"What if we're the last creatures left alive?" Eddie cried. "We'll have to repopulate the Earth."

"How? Everyone's either a dude or our sister." Crash glanced at Tora before amending, "or would kill us if we suggested it."

"Hi. Hey, Manny. Wow. What a night. You'll never guess what happened." Sid said as he stumbled out of the woods

"I'm going to go out in a limb and say You were sleepwalking." Diego smirked

"No, no, no. I was kidnapped by a tribe of mini sloths." Sid said.

"That was gonna be my guess." Tora chuckled.

"And they worshiped me. I mean, sure, they tossed me into a flaming tar pit, but they worshiped me." Sid cried.

"You were dreaming. Come on, the water's rising faster than we're moving." Manny snapped.

I'm telling you, I was kidnapped. I was worshiped. Guys. Fine." Sid sighed as the herd kept walking.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well guys. Idk how I finished this chapter so fast. It was probably because I watched to movie again and got inspired. I know this story is shorter than the original but I tried to do longer chapters this time. I'm going to attempt to get a schedule going so look forward to that. I'm also working on a project with my friend, a Descendants 2 fanfiction that I will try to get up. No promises on time. Enjoy**!

 **Word count: 2045**

The rest of the traveling day was quite interesting and tense, especially with the vultures constantly stalking over their heads and talking of eating them. By late afternoon, the herd could see the boat in the distance.

"We made it." Diego gasped and Tora let out a relieved laugh.

"Yeah, we showed those scary vultures." Sid cried happily.

Manny and Ellie laughed happily before pausing and looking in each other's eyes. Ellie broke away and started through the field, only to almost be blasted in the face with a geyser. She screamed and scrambled backwards.

"It's just a little hot water and steam. How bad could it be?" Sid laughed nervously.

Suddenly, a dodo wandered into the field and was blasted into the air, landing on the ground dead with no feathers and the meat looking cooked. "I just did something involuntary and messy." Sid whispered and Tora moved away from him in disgust.

"OK, come on." Manny ordered, stepping into the field.

Tora glanced at Diego in shock. She couldn't help but think that Manny had finally lost it.

"Manny. Get back. It's a minefield out there!" Diego called.

"There's only one way to go. Straight through." Manny insisted

"Straight through? We'd like to keep the fur on our bodies, thank you." Ellie insisted. "We'll head back and go around."

"There's no time. The dam will burst before we make it. We'll drown." Manny yelled.

"If we go through this, we get blown to bits." Ellie said in annoyance.

"We go forward."

"We go back."

"Forward."

"Back."

"Can I say something?" Diego cut in.

"Let's just talk about this." Tora tried.

"No." Both mammoths yelled in anger.

"You are so stubborn and hard-headed." Manny growled.

"Well, I guess that proves it. I am a mammoth."

Ellie turned and stomped away from the minefield. Crash and Eddie glanced around for a few moments, seemingly unwilling to leave before following their sister. Tora frowned and glanced at Diego. He seemed to know her intentions because he sighed and nodded.

"Be safe?" He asked softly.

"I'll be fine. I'll see you at the boat." She said confidently before bounding off to Ellie.

She caught up with the female after a few moments and Eddie leapt onto her back. They moved in a tense silence until Eddie began messing with the necklace that lay in her fur.

"What's this for?" He asked curiously.

Tora sighed and at first didn't say anything but he kept pestering her and even Ellie seemed to be interested. She told them of the journey, leaving out Soto and the things the pack had ordered them to do, using the opportunity to tell Ellie more about Manny. She obviously avoided his family but she could see the girl smiling a little as she talked. She could tell that Ellie had grown to truly like Manny.

Just as Tora finished her story, the ground began to shake violently. The females broke into a run, the possums slipping off and running with them. After several moments, they reached an overhang on the path. The boat was visible through the rocks but it was still a bit away.

The shaking ground finally took its toll as rocks fell on both ends of the overhang, turning it into a cave with no exit.

"No!" Tora cried desperately. She reached the other wall and clawed at the walls hopelessly.

"Push." Eddie cried.

Even with Ellie's strength, the walls didn't budge. A small hole that filtered in light caught Ellie's attention.

"You guys gotta go." She ordered the possums.

"We're not leaving you." Crash said firmly.

"I'm not asking." She snapped, wrapping her trunk around them and stuffing them through the hole.

"Ellie, don't worry. We're going for help." Eddie promised.

"Stay here." Crash called.

"No Duh!" Ellie yelled back.

Tora began pacing the small cave anxiously. It was a mindless movement really, she didn't register it with her mind so full of thoughts.

"They will find Manny and Diego. They'll get out out of here." She mumbled.

Ellie nodded, obviously thinking the statement was directed towards her. "We'll be fine." Ellie said.

Tora jumped as she felt water touch her paws, water was seeping in through the rocks alarmingly fast. Ellie continued to push at the rocks while Tora simply tried to stand on a higher part of the cave. Being much smaller than Ellie, her legs were already being soaked in water.

"Ellie! Tora!" The cry from outside was Manny.

"Manny!" Ellie cried thankfully.

Even combined with Manny's strength, the rocks wouldn't budge. Tora's head suddenly was pulled underwater as a fresh wave swept over her head. Ellie gasped and wrapped a trunk around her middle pulling her up and onto her back.

Tora mumbled her thanks as she shivered, clinging onto Ellie. Despite her confidence, she couldn't swim other than to keep her head above water for a few seconds.

"Ellie, hold onto me!" Manny said.

The females gasped in hopelessness before Ellie put her trunk back through the hole and grasped Manny's. The water continued until both females heads were pressed against the ceiling.

Both took large gasps before the air was removed. Tora let herself float in one place, attempting to keep her oxygen as long as possible. Despite her efforts, her lungs were not as powerful as Ellie's. Finally, the air ran out. Her mouth opened and water flooded into her throat. Her eyes widened with shock at first as she flailed before the lack of oxygen became too much. Her eyes slid into slits and she felt herself floating down to the bottom before she felt nothing.

Ellie's eyes widened as she wrapped her trunk around the saber, just as Manny freed her and her own oxygen began to run out.

Two mammoth trunks broke the surface, causing Sid and the possums to cheer but Diego waited tensely until Ellie brought Tora to the surface. It wasn't until Ellie pulled her onto the rock did he realize she wasn't breathing. He gasped in shock, fear welling in him until Eddie slipped involuntarily off of his back and onto the female's stomach. The jolt sent water spewing from her lungs, causing her to cough violently. Diego immediately nuzzled his sister gently as she gasped for breath, his fear slowly draining out of him.

"Diego." She rasped but he simply shook his head and helped her sit up.

He was struck by a realization that he could have lost his sister. He also realized that she had felt this as well, believing that he was dead. He licked her cheek gently, grateful that she was alive.

"Nine lives baby." She chuckled dryly, quoting his words.

Suddenly, the boat crashed into the water, which crept closer and closer to the rock. And then, as though by a miracle (or a squirrel) the ice wall cracked and broke. Water began flowing away, draining into the ocean. The herd breathed sighs of relief as the water receded, leaving dry ground. They made their way down into the valley, where the other animals were getting off the boat. Tora was leaning on Diego's shoulder some but was otherwise alright. Sid was telling her how he had taught Diego to swim, causing the girl to laugh.

Sid smiled as a few kids ran by happily. "I'm thinking about starting a swim school. Sid's Squids."

"Genius." Tora smiled.

Suddenly, Sid screamed and scrambled behind the two sabers. There was a tribe of small sloths standing at the bottom of the hill.

"All hail Fire King." One said before falling onto the ground in a bow, the others following.

"umm… Hi." Sid said nervously. The tiny sloths jumped to their feet and mimicked him.

"Fire King avert flood. Join us, O great and noble flaming one." The first sloth said. Sid smirked, raising his eyebrows as he considered it.

"No, not so fast there, OK. You make a quality offer." Diego jumped in. "But Fire King has a prior commitment."

"His herd needs him." Tora added.

"He is the gooey, sticky stuff that holds us together. He made this herd, and we'd be nothing without him." Diego smiled at Sid gently.

"You mean it?" Sid gasped before latching onto Diego with one arm and Tora with the other, pulling them into hugs.

"Sid. Sid." Tora laughed, attempting to pull away but failing.

"That doesn't mean "want to touch"." Diego complained before sighing.

Tora chuckled as she noticed the mini-sloths copying them, as Manny and Ellie walked up.

"Don't ask." Diego sighed.

The sabers finally managed to get the sloth off of them when a sound reached their ears. The animals of the valley paused as they heard a soft rumbling in the air, almost like loud footsteps. From the cracked ice sheet, an entire herd of mammoths emerged, obviously migrating through the valley.

"They are more mammoths!" Tora gasped.

"We aren't the last ones any more!" Ellie cried happily as she began following the herd. Manny blinked, obviously hurt.

Tora could tell that they were talking but decided against eavesdropping.

The mammals watched as Ellie turned away and walked away, joining the herd of mammoths. Crash smiled sadly as he gave them a peace sign, while Eddie just walked sadly away as the two joined their "sister". Sid, Diego and Tora looked at them sadly before moving towards Manny.

"Manny", Sid started. "You've come a long way since we met and I'll take full credit for that, but you need to let go of the past so you can have a future."

"Go after her." Diego encouraged.

"This is your chance." Tora smiled.

"It's OK. We'll always be here for you." Diego promised

"I'll keep in touch."

"Yeah, yeah. You're a good friend." Tora laughed, her ears pinning back a little in embarrassment.

"Point made. Now, go on. Scat." Diego said, waving Manny towards Ellie although Tora could tell he was a little upset.

"Our Manny's growing up." Sid said sadly.

Tora smiled as she watched Manny head after Ellie.

"He's happy with her." She concluded. "He deserves to be happy."

The boys nodded slowly before turning away.

"Well, it's just you two and me now. Two bachelors and a bachelorette, knocking about in the wild." Sid said good naturedly.

"Fine. But I'm not gonna carry you." Diego insisted.

"I'm won't unless I'm feeling extremely nice." Tora warned.

"We still have our pride, you know." Diego smirked.

"Come on, buddy, for old time's sake?" Sid begged.

"I'll carry him." Manny's voice startled the sabers as he lifted Sid onto his back. Ellie and the possums were beside him, smiling.

"But your herd's leaving." Diego said in confusion.

"We are now." Manny smiled.

Crash and Eddie leapt off of Ellie's back and onto the sabers, Eddie leaning against Tora's neck.

"Will you carry me Kitten?" He asked teasingly.

Tora growled softly and shook her fur in warning. "Don't call me kitten and sure."

Eddie laughed nervously and adjusted his grip.

"Manny, who do you like better? Me or Diego?" Sid asked as the herd began moving.

"Diego. It's not even close."

"Told you." Diego laughed.

"Manny, you can't choose between your kids." Ellie scolded.

"He's not my kid. Not even my dog. If I had a dog and my dog had a kid... and the dog's kid had a pet, that would be Sid." Manny laughed.

"What about Tora or Diego?" Sid asked.

"Tora." Manny said quickly. "She's quieter."

Tora laughed at the hurt look on her brothers face. "At least you aren't the pet of the dogs kid like Sid." Tora teased.

"Can I have a dog, Manny?" Sid asked excitedly.

"No." Manny snapped.

"Ellie, can I have a dog?" Sid asked again.

"Of course you can, sweetie." Ellie smiled.

"Ellie, we have to be consistent with him." Manny warned.

They walked for the day before settling down by a campfire. When they did, Tora snuggled into Diego's fur and slept fitfully. After everything that had happened, the nightmares didn't come tonight. That's not to say that they wouldn't come any other night, but she knew that if they did, her brother would be there with her. As would the rest of the herd. Because that's what you do in a herd.


End file.
